With all these quick attacks running into problems, what about patient play,
making a secure castle? Kato Hifumi 9 Dan once wrote that the fortress castle is
a good choice for any handicap game, and it seems to make good sense at four piece
since the bishop ends up pointing at the weakness on 1c. How would white make a
fight of it then? Well, I tried a somewhat similar system against Nada in one game,
and he set up the following defensive formation (shown here against the fortress):
He just moved his gold back and forth from 4c to 4b, waiting for my attack but ready
to launch a counterattack as soon as he got some pieces in hand. I won, but not
without some complications. Aside from the difficulty of starting the attack, black
has to be careful about his order of moves, as he might allow white to start a fight
before his formation is completed.
I think that if black is going to play a slow system, it is better to adopt one
that allows him to attack on either side. The most promising formation seems to
be one that was mentioned by Kazuo Manabe 8 Dan for two piece handicap, but which
looks really powerful at four piece. The following line is as given by him, with
white's moves modified to be appropriate for four piece:
(Java viewer) 1...S6b 2 P7f
P5d 3 S4h S5c 4 P5f P4d 5 P4f G3b 6 S4g K5b 7 S6h S2b 8 P6f P3d 9 P3f K4c
10 N3g G6b 11 S6g P7d 12 K5h P6d 13 R2i G7c 14 G3h G8d 15 B7i P7e 16 Px7e Gx7e
17 P*7f G7d 18 B5g P8d 19 N7g,
planning G7h, P2f, P1f-1e, P9f-9e, and an
attack on either wing, depending on white's play. This should win rather easily,
as black's position is very secure, but perhaps white can manage to stir up trouble
before black reaches such a solid formation, though anything he tries should backfire
with correct play.
To summarize, there are many good ways for black to play at four piece handicap,
but none in my opinion is as simple and powerful as the climbing gold.
*****
Lessons from this handicap:
- Dangling a pawn in the enemy's home court is often a powerful strategy. It
can deflect a defender at any moment.
- Luring an enemy knight forward is sometimes a way to win it.
- Promoting the rook is not decisive if it can be sent home.
- White's king is his most powerful defender.
- Black should either attack quickly, i.e. climbing gold, or else
set up a super-solid formation before even thinking about attack. Halfway
measures tend to be inferior.
- When white advances a pawn to the fifth rank, it is usually wise to defend the
corresponding pawn with a general, even if there is no immediate threat.
- A gold on 3c invites an attack based on N2e (or N*2e).
- Two promoted pawns together can devastate the enemy. The sacrifice of a general
for a knight to achieve this is a very good deal.
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